All Good Things...

We start the episode with a distraught Picard being bounced around through time, unaware why as the episode starts, going from his first day on the Enterprise as Captain of the federation flagship, the present as a Captain older and wiser and twenty years time as a retired wine maker back in his beloved France. To wrap things up even more Q appears and has apparently placed humanity back on trial as a savage warlike race. However this time it is Picard himself who has caused the destruction and unravelling of the universe itself, although he has no idea how?

When I first saw this double episode adventure I was a major fan of the series and having been largely disappointed with series 7 was hoping I would get a big finish to the series and I was not disappointed. The story is great and continues very much in the vain of the last Q episode "Tapestry" arguably up there as one of the best Q episodes ever.

The performances by the cast are verging on perfect as they have got to the point where the characters are like a favourite suit that you were with pride and panache, because you know that whatever happens, you're gonna look great in it. The effects are great and there are some truly fantastic images and moments that are so well written that it brings home everything that we love about trek. The direction is flawless and the ending is so amazing that it almost makes me cry.

Better than all the next gen films out together and so sad that they couldn't do it on the big screen. However for non-next gen aficionados check out the best eps from the first seven series before you see this one, as you have to get the meaning from the other shows before you can appreciate this.

It was the best series ending till "Doctor Who's Army of Ghosts and Doomsday" but it's the best finale to a series that wraps everything up beautifully. Happy Days!

You can watch every episode within this series, and I don't think you'll find one that runs on all cylinders like this one. I'll admit, as many have already noted, that there are technical flaws in the storyline, but that doesn't take away from the best finale I've ever seen.

Character development has evolved so much within the series, it is fantastic that the finale revolves around Picard, his crew and foes unique to STNG. I, for one, enjoyed seeing how the writers projected these characters beyond anything they had presented in any of the previous episodes.

So, if you enjoy the series, and are looking for an all encapsulating episode that contains action, thought, character relationships and a little Trek history, this is definitely the episode for you. Without spoiling this story, I felt the final scene was the best way to send this show into it's TV conclusion.

Your reading this for one of possibly two reasons:

A) You want to know how others feel about this final episode that you've also seen or,..

B) You have no idea about Star Trek

Given the popularity of this series, I'll assume "A" is your reason. However, if your the rare "B" person, then I recommend avoiding this episode until you've watched at least a few episodes of The Next Generation.

This wonderful 2-hour finale utilizes the history of these characters and plots beautifully and with reverence.

The lead character of the series, Jean Luc Picard, finds that he is inexplicably shifting between 3 time periods within his own liftime (past, present and future). Once he finds the reason for this, things become more complex and intriguing. His eyes are opened to an even greater threat than what he had perceived to be his own. As wonderful a premise that is, the subplots greatly enhance the characters and draw you into the story.

For example, Tasha Yar, a well regarded character in the series was killed early in the shows run. In his shift into the past, Picard once again sees her alive, accompanying him to the Enterprise for the first time (again, ironically). Once he returns to the present, he laments over having seen her again. A beautifully played little scene.

The main story combined with these subplots makes for one of the best written series endings ever in TV history.

Let's hope that future TV series (not necessarily Trek, of course) have the opportunity to do the same.

Rating: **** out of ****

While the original crew had it better with the movies, The Next Generation was the only Star Trek TV series that I watched consistently. The show had a cast that at least equalled that of the original, boasted better production values, and plots that were intriguing and touched on varieties of concepts that Kirk, Spock, and Bones never got the chance to explore. Deep Space Nine was too mired into the whole "war of the quadrants" to explore any ideas with real satisfaction, and while Voyager had the best effects and the best premise, the cast was middling at best. Enterprise took a while to get going but had a superb third season and a solid fourth.

All Good Things..., the swan song episode for TNG, is possibly the best of Star Trek, period, focusing on mind-boggling concepts while retaining the character development and human interest that made the show so appealing. It's the seventh year that the crew of the Starhip Enterprise have been together, but Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is experiencing odd timeshifts. He's constantly switching between three different time periods; in the past, right before the Farpoint mission, in the present, and in the future, where the crew has long split up, Picard is retired and is diagnosed with a debilitating mental illness. Naturally, the rest of the crew is skeptical (be it in any time period), but when Picard discovers the true nature of his constant shifting, he realizes it is both the means and cause with which the existence of mankind could be erased.

I hesitate to give too much away, though I doubt anyone with a passing interest in Star Trek hasn't already seen this episode. But it plays as an interesting comparison and contrast to the series' first episode, Encounter at Farpoint, which it directly ties in to with Picard's timeshifting to the past. There's been a notable improvement in the quality of the sets and the visual effects, and also the acting, the pacing, and the plot development.

All Good Things... has all the solid acting one expects from the cast, and a human touch that was missing from the latest film, Nemesis. It's interesting to note that this episode (meaning the whole series, as well) ends with the door open for all sorts of possibilities; at this time, this clearly implied the much-hyped transition to the big screen.

Unfortunately, some of the more open-ended questions this episode focused on were never even touched on. Sure, the Worf/Troi/Riker triangle was resolved, but one of my favorite ongoing side stories, the burgeoning romance between Picard and Dr. Crusher, was completely ignored in the movies. And the final scenes lead one to believe that the movies would take us to "places" never explored, even though the most recent film was merely a plot less action movie that didn't even have enough action to warrant the movie's existence.

Stewart is the true highlight of this episode, displaying the great acting chops he's been known for. The fact that we care for him and the rest of the crew as well, adds a sense of urgency and involvement in the proceedings that the otherwise quite frantic pace alone might not have been able to develop. The plot twists are pure Trek, each mysterious element giving away to some big revelation that only leads to more questions. The story is engrossing, the dialogue is strong, and the performances and characterizations are spot-on.

There are a few problems with All Good Things. The timeshifting obviously means we're going to see past and future versions of the cast, but everyone's aged to a certain extent where they can't quite pass for their more youthful selves and the old-age makeup is never entirely convincing (Old Riker's first appearance gave me a good laugh). That said, I would like to make mention of what full-blown hotties Marina Sirtis and especially Gates McFadden became (McFadden is easily the most attractive post 50-year old actress I've ever seen).

The continuing movie series actually began quite well; Generations and First Contact were enjoyable adventures, but everything seemed to fall apart with Insurrection. Funny, All Good Things... is a title that turned out more self-prophetic than anyone would have guessed.

Ten years ago (i was 21 years old), studying an university exam (Diritto Pubblico), i started to watch Star Trek The Next Generation. It was a great daily meeting for me and my school-mate Loris and i still remember my delusion when we missed the second part of the "attack of Borg" cause the local Italian television transmitted it on Saturday. After 10 years i have just finished the vision of "All Good Things" and i must say i am tearing for commotion. I bought the 7 DVD-series of STTNG (i received some of them as a present too) last year and now, after one year, i saw all the movies. I have no words: WONDERFUL. I have the first three DVD series of Deep Space Nine ready, but i am certain that in the present, in the past and in the future, my only captain will be Jean-Luc Picard. (sorry for my English)